The Yorkshire Coast & Moors

Tour Code: GBR28

A 4-day birdwatching holiday exploring the Yorkshire coast and North Yorkshire Moors.

4 days from
£895 (land only)
book now

Highlights

Summary

Summary

The Yorkshire coast has an amazing variety of wildlife habitats on its doorstep. On this short break we’ll first spend a day visiting the towering chalk cliffs of Flamborough and Bempton, where the RSPB safeguards over 200,000 nesting seabirds including Britain’s largest mainland Gannet colony, as well as Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins and Kittiwakes. We’ll explore Filey Brigg and Filey Dams Nature Reserves as well as surrounding farmland and countryside looking for the area’s healthy populations of Corn Bunting and Tree Sparrow. Our second full day will be spent in the North York Moors National Park where Red Grouse share the heather moorland with species such as Wheatear and Merlin, while forests hold Crossbills and scarce birds of prey including Honey Buzzard.

  • Visit impressive seabird colonies at Flamborough & Bempton
  • Guillemots, Puffins and Razorbills among seabirds
  • Experience Britain’s largest mainland Gannet colony
  • Search for Corn Buntings and Tree Sparrows on farmland
  • Full day in North York Moors National Park
  • Golden Plover and Red Grouse among the moorland species we’ll look for
  • Carnivorous plants, Golden-ringed Dragonflies and the scarce Large Heath among other wildlife
  • Led by an expert Naturetrek naturalist guide

Grading

Day walks and optional evening excursions

Famous for its seaside towns of Scarborough, Filey, Whitby and Bridlington, the coast of Yorkshire has an amazing variety of wildlife habitat on its doorstep, all within easy reach for a 4 day tour. We begin this holiday with a day on the Yorkshire coast visiting the towering chalk cliffs of Flamborough and Bempton where the RSPB safeguard over 200,000 nesting seabirds, including Britain’s largest mainland Gannet colony, as well as Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins and Kittiwakes. We will also visit Filey Brigg and Filey Dams Nature Reserve and the surrounding farmland countryside where Corn Bunting and Tree Sparrow still maintain healthy populations.

Our second full day will be spent exploring the North York Moors National Park, to the north of Scarborough. Here Red Grouse share the heather moorlands with breeding Golden Plover, Wheatear, Merlin, Red Grouse and the possibility of Ring Ouzel. Also in this area, small boggy streams are home to carnivorous Sundew plants, Golden-ringed Dragonflies and even the scarce Large Heath butterfly. Included in the park is an extensive forest centred on the village of Dalby where Crossbills are numerous and various scarce birds of prey such as Honey Buzzard may be seen.

We will have the opportunity to visit prime Nightjar habitat where we can listen to their strange ‘churring’ calls and maybe witness their eerie shapes in the dark as they chase after moths. Roding Woodcock are also likely to appear at dusk, adding to the magical experience.

 

DETAILED INFORMATION
Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Arrive Scarborough
Day 2
Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Head
Day 3
Wykeham and the North York Moors National Park
Day 4
Morning in Scarborough before departure
cloud_downloadDownload Full Itinerary
What's Included

What's Included?

  • Accommodation: We will be staying in a comfortable tourist hotel with private facilities in each room.
  • Food: Breakfast and evening meals are included in the tour price but lunches are not included.
Reviews
Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2025

Departures Availability Cost
Mon 16th Jun – Thu 19th Jun SPACES £895
Book Tour Show Details
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£895
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£245
Tour Leader:
Please note that, whilst we assign leaders to particular tours well in advance, we reserve the right to make changes if necessary
Alan Miller
TL Alan Miller

Tour Leader: Alan Miller

Alan originates from County Durham but has lived in North Yorkshire for over 50 years where he is a regular around the county's varied birding sites. He retired from the police service in 2003 having served for over 30 years including a 2-year spell as the Force Wildlife Liaison Officer and the last 7 planning, organising and running events. Since then he has been able to concentrate full-time on wildlife, conservation and travelling. Alan considers himself lucky that watching wildlife, especially birding, is a hobby enjoyed by all his family so holidays usually include a wildlife theme. Binoculars are a constant companion and Alan often takes his telescope, a bat detector, a butterfly net and even a moth trap with him. Travelling has taken Alan to a wide variety of destinations including Europe, North America, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Australasia. Alan has been involved in bird survey work for over 20 years and more lately in butterfly and dragonfly surveys He is a member of a number of organisations including the RSPB, BTO and Butterfly Conservation. He is also a founding committee member of his local RSPB Group. Alan especially enjoys seeing birds, animals, insects and other wildlife in their natural environment and tries to incorporate his wide interest in all forms of wildlife into the trips he leads.

2026

Departures Availability Cost
Mon 15th Jun – Thu 18th Jun SPACES £895
Book Tour Show Details
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£895
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£245 
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Short Break Wildlife Holidays


Among our programme is a significant range of short breaks, designed specially for those wishing to enjoy some of Europe’s top natural history highlights at the best time of year. All of these holidays have the bonus of being short-haul and supported by like-minded wildlife enthusiasts.


Naturetrek Short Break Wildlife Tours


Short breaks are becoming increasingly popular and in response to the high demand for this type of holiday we are continuing to increase our programme both within the UK and abroad. Most of our short breaks are within Europe, for convenience of travel.


For some of our mini-breaks there is an option to travel by plane or train, and we offer a choice of duration and type of break, from a weekend’s birdwatching in the Somerset Levels to a 6-day whale watching tour in the Azores.


A selection of our UK short breaks:



A selection of our overseas short breaks:



 




 


Our specialist recommends...








"We offer two superb short breaks to the lovely island of Madeira in search of whales, dolphins and seabirds. It’s hard to beat our Just Brown Bears trip for families, while if you fancy something off the beaten track, try Estonia in Early Spring for some excellent spring birdwatching." 

Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager




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Birding Tours Led by Expert Naturalists


The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.


Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours


We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.


The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.

Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:



Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection


Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.


 




Our specialist recommends...






"Try Coto Doñana & Extremadura for an excellent introduction to Europe's wetland and steppe birds. I would recommend our bargain holiday, 'Nepal – A Birdwatching Tour' for those interested in Siberian rarities and Ibisbill, while Costa Rica offers a chance to search for arguably the world's most beautiful bird, the Resplendent Quetzal."

Byron Palacios - Tour Leader




  


 


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Flight-free Wildlife Holidays


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It is also the case that many of our other holidays within Europe are also accessible by rail. Generally, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and we’d be pleased to offer advice to anybody who wishes to join any of our tours within Europe by a means other than flying!




Our specialist recommends...






"Our Picos & Plains tour offers an environmentally-friendly route down to Spain for some excellent birding and cetacean-watching. More broadly, we’re very keen for Naturetrek to offer the most dynamic, market-leading carbon-reduced holidays available, and we hope you enjoy browsing our list of no-flight wildlife holidays!” 

Kerrie Porteous - Operations Manager




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Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?

For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.

Enquire
Why Naturetrek?

Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

  • The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
  • Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
  • Outstanding value and exceptional customer service

Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!